Playing With Blocks

The first time I heard Wes
Montgomery, I was struck by
three things: his melodic sensibility,
his use of octaves, and how he
played solos using chords. This latter
technique allowed Wes to make the
guitar sound almost like a big band.

Let’s examine several important
elements of this block-chord technique,
starting with two important
considerations: First, we’ll limit
ourselves to playing chords on four
adjacent strings (string sets 1-4 or 2-5
work best). Second, all our harmonic
choices will be dictated by the melody.

Take the basic melody in Fig. 1. If
I were to take that same melody and
apply a block-chord soloing approach
I might end up with Fig. 2. You’ll
notice that the melody remains the
same and the chords I chose lie on
the four adjacent strings. The melody
is very diatonic and the only chromaticism
occurs in measure 3, where
the same chord structure moves chromatically
to harmonize the melody
from A7 to Bb7. Wes often used this
device in his solos.Download Example Audio 1...Download Example Audio 2...

Wes was also fond of substituting
a diminished 7th chord for a
dominant 7th chord. In this type
of substitution, you can replace a
dominant 7 with a diminished 7
in four ways: You can substitute a
diminished 7th chord rooted off
the dominant 7th’s 3, 5, and b7,
or plant a diminished 7 a half-step
above the root of the dominant
7th chord.

For example, if you have a Bb7,
you can use a Ddim7 (from the 3),
Fdim7 (from the 5), Abdim7 (from
the b7), or substitute a Cbdim7
(which is rooted a half-step higher
than Bb7) for the dominant 7th
chord. The main reason this works
is that regardless of which diminished
7th chord you’re playing,
the 3 and b7 of the Bb7 are always
present. The 3 (D) and b7 (Ab) are
known as guide tones, and these are
the defining tones of any dominant
7th chord. When you use this substitution,
the sonority you create is
Bb7(b9).

In Fig. 3, I’ve taken the same
melody and used the diminished
7 to substitute for the dominant
7 as described above. As you
play through this, notice the rich
sound that results from using these
diminished chords. Also, in measure
2, notice how you can take
parallel diminished chord structures
and move them along the
neck in minor thirds. Download Example Audio 3...

These examples are over the first
four bars of the blues. Take these
techniques and try to finish out an
entire chorus of the blues. Listen to
great Wes Montgomery recordings
to better understand the sound of
these concepts, and then strive to
integrate them into your playing.

Tom Dempsey is a
freelance jazz guitarist in
New York City who has
worked with such luminaries
as Jack McDuff, Dave
Brubeck, and Bobby
McFerrin. A committed
educator, Dempsey is on the faculty of Jazz
at Lincoln Center, National Guitar Workshop,
and the New York Jazz Academy. Learn
more at www.tomdempseymusic.com.

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